CONCORD, N.C. – The conclusion of Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway also set the matchups for the first NASCAR In Season Challenge, set to kick off on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

The 32-driver field will be paired into a single-elimination bracket played out over the next five events. 

Instead of being based on the Cup Series points standings, the previous three races were used to determine seeding. Points accumulated over the three races were used to order competitors 1-32. 

Leading Hendrick Motorsports is Chase Elliott, who earned his second straight top-five finish at Pocono. He is the No. 5 seed and will match up against Austin Dillon at Atlanta. 

Next is Alex Bowman in the eighth position. He will tangle with 25th-seeded Joey Logano. Playoff standings leader, Kyle Larson, is seeded 10th and will face Tyler Reddick in round one. Finally, points leader William Byron is the 18th seed and will face the No. 15 seed, Ryan Preece. 

Check back at HendrickMotorsports.com for updates throughout the tournament. 

FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION, PART 5: Gordon vs. Earnhardt

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin earned the top seed in the inaugural version of NASCAR’s In-season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament set to kick off next week in Atlanta.

The tournament, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner, is part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

The final 32-driver field was set by results of the races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Chase Briscoe won the Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway to finalize the field.

The drivers will be paired in head-to-head matchups based on seeding, with the winners advancing to the next round in a bracket format that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Hamlin goes head-to-head next week against the 32nd seed, Ty Dillon. Briscoe earned the second seed, Chris Buescher is third, Christopher Bell fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

The format is single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The tournament is patterned after in-season tournaments that are staged by soccer leagues around the world and even brought to the NBA.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin earned the top seed in the inaugural version of NASCAR’s In-season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament set to kick off next week in Atlanta.

The tournament, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner, is part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

The final 32-driver field was set by results of the races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Chase Briscoe won the Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway to finalize the field.

The drivers will be paired in head-to-head matchups based on seeding, with the winners advancing to the next round in a bracket format that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Hamlin goes head-to-head next week against the 32nd seed, Ty Dillon. Briscoe earned the second seed, Chris Buescher is third, Christopher Bell fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

The format is single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The tournament is patterned after in-season tournaments that are staged by soccer leagues around the world and even brought to the NBA.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Reflecting on the win, Colin Braun credited the team’s strategy and execution, saying, “It was just really good pitch strategy by the guys. Tom did a great job hitting the fuel number he needed to hit. The Acura, HRC, MSR guys were right on with the math to make it work. In the end, it just came down to a battle of the fuel save. Great to grab the win, super proud of everybody, and hopefully, it kicks off some good momentum.”

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) — Denny Hamlin earned the top seed in the inaugural version of NASCAR’s In-season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament set to kick off next week in Atlanta.

The tournament, which comes with a $1 million prize to the winner, is part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

The final 32-driver field was set by results of the races at Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Chase Briscoe won the Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway to finalize the field.

The drivers will be paired in head-to-head matchups based on seeding, with the winners advancing to the next round in a bracket format that mirrors the NCAA basketball tournaments.

Hamlin goes head-to-head next week against the 32nd seed, Ty Dillon. Briscoe earned the second seed, Chris Buescher is third, Christopher Bell fourth and Chase Elliott fifth.

The format is single elimination with the field cut to 16 at Chicago, eight at Sonoma, four at Dover and the final two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The tournament is patterned after in-season tournaments that are staged by soccer leagues around the world and even brought to the NBA.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

We’re down to single digits and now we have 11 different winners.

After Sunday’s Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway, only nine races remain in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Chase Briscoe claimed his first win of the season Sunday, becoming the 11th racer to win a race this season.

Advertisement

Briscoe was thin on fuel during the final stage, but had enough gas and horsepower to hold off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the final laps. Ryan Blaney was third as the top three all finished within a second of each other. Here’s the full finishing order.

NASCAR standings: Results from Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway today

1. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

4. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

6. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

7. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

8. Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

9. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

10. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

11. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

12. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

13. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

14. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

15. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

16. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

17. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

18. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

19. Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

20. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

21. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

22. Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

23. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

24. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

25. Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

26. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

27. William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

28. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

29. Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet

31. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

32. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

33. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

34. Brennan Poole, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet

35. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

36. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

37. Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR today: Results, winner of Cup Series race at Pocono